:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48965681/usa-today-9091687.0.jpg)
Last week, the Twitterverse was abuzz with the news that Baylor forward Rico Gathers would try his hand at football and make the jump to the NFL. Apparently, the announcers covering Baylor Basketball weren't entirely crazy to mention the possibility every three seconds, but we knew that already. I think most Baylor fans have wanted to see him don some shoulderpads for a while now.
And now it looks like they might get to see that next season for Baylor, rather than the NFL as was previously reported. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Rico wants to gather some experience on the college level before trying to make the jump to the NFL:
As it stands now, Baylor forward Rico Gathers plans to play TE at Baylor next season rather than try NFL. Smart move by Gathers.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 1, 2016
That, my friends, is the kind of news that makes me do my happy dance.
With the removal of Tre'Von Armstead from the team this past season and the graduations of both starting TEs/HBs, Gus Penning and LaQuan McGowan, Baylor needs an athletic pass-catching and road-paving TE in the worst way. It's yet to be seen whether Rico can be either of those things on a football field (at least, when someone else is on the field with him), but at 6-8, 275, I'm willing to give him that shot.
And so is Art Briles.
Before anyone asks, yes, Rico gets an extra year of eligibility as a football player. That is not in dispute. He will have exhausted his basketball eligibility after this season.